A little goes a long way (plus a tale of $0.99 conditioner)

Many, many moons ago, when I was newly married and shopping on my own for the first time, I bought some inexpensive conditioner, and brought it home, pleased with my money-savvy-ness.

$0.99 a bottle was an awesome price, no?

Well, I thought it was until I used the conditioner for a few days. My hair became a total disaster…it was so dull and heavy, I looked a bit like I’d doused my head in candle wax.

Anyway, ever since then, I’ve been a firm believer in paying a bit more for decent hair conditioner and I’ve learned that a low price isn’t always indicative of a bargain.

I don’t at all mind using cheap shampoo or body wash, but I refuse to put $0.99 conditioner in my hair.

So, when BlogHer asked if I’d review a new conditioner from Dove, I was delighted to do so.

I’ve used regular Dove conditioner in the past, and I’ve always been pleased with it (no candle-wax effect!) This product is a little different than other Dove conditioners, though, because it promises to provide serious damage therapy without weighing down your hair.

I don’t typically color or perm my hair, so it’s not very damaged. However, just this summer, I’d noticed that my regular conditioner had been leaving a bit of a waxy buildup in the back of my hair (cue flashbacks to the $0.99 conditioner days!) So, I was curious to see if the Dove conditioner would be an improvement.

I’ve been using it for a week or two, and I’m pleased to report that I’ve had zero build-up issues (woo!)

Also, I’m pleased to say that this amount of conditioner:

(props to Zoe for being my hand model)

is enough to take care of my whole head. Have you ever noticed that with cheap conditioners, you have to use gobs in order to get it worked into all of your hair?

Well, the opposite is true here…I’ve never been able to use such a small amount and still get satisfactory results. My bottle of conditioner is going to last me forever this way (and that’s a good thing!)

Oh, and the other day I was noticing that my hair felt a little more body-ful than usual, but until just now, I didn’t connect that with this conditioner. It’s a weightless formula, so no wonder my hair is feeling fluffier. 😉

This conditioner seems to run in the $4-$5 range, so it’s not cheap. However, you should be able to find it on sale, and Dove coupons are available pretty regularly (there’s a link to a $1.50 coupon later in this post, actually!) Plus, since you need to use so little, a bottle should last you for a good while, even if you’ve got longer hair than I do.

Ok. Giveaway time! There’s a $1000 Spafinder gift certificate up for grabs, so pay attention. 😉 The entering method for this giveaway is a bit different than most of my other giveaways. All of the details are below.

What’s your best frugal hair care tip? Answer that question at this link to be entered into the giveaway.

More entry options (and a printable coupon link!) are below, so read on.

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Enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE NOT SWEEPSTAKES ENTRIES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ENTRY METHODS FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Follow this link, and provide your email address and your response to the Promotion prompt (What’s your best frugal hair care tip?)

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that Tweet.

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that post.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2012 – 9/30/2012

Be sure to visit Dove^®Hair.com to get a coupon for $1.50 off Dove Hair Therapy products.

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Joshua’s 365 post: Birthday Haul